The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-01-11
PRONOUNCED FALSE.
Denial of the Story that the Pacific Roads
Had Corrupted congressman.

Had Corrupted Congressmen.
Washington special
The sensational report which has been pub
lished in New York to the effect that very
large sum Of money has been used here to secure
the passage of the Pacific railroad refunding bill
that over So, 900. 900 be traced to members of
Congress; that one member received $3.50 600,
and that Mr. Charles. Sheriff., the agent Of the
Pacific roads. who has just died, paid the week
before his death over $500, coo in cash for some
purpose here, and that calls to the amount of
$1,000 shares of Union Pacific stock are held by
members of Congress who are expected to vote
favorably upon legislation. has naturally at
tracted considerable attention here but treated
generally as the most baseless of canards. 1t is
not probable that any such amount of money
could have been expended in connection with
Congress for any purpose. and the report attracts
no attention save in the columns of an evening
paper In New York whose circulation is confined
to that city.
The sensational story has in itself intrinsic ev-
licences of inaccuracy. The fundamental fact is
that Mr.. Charles Sheriff., the late agent of the
Southern Pacific railroad, was not in the lobby
in the interests of the passage of this Pacific
funding bill, but, the contrary, was opposed to
1t, and has frequently been heard, in an en-
phatic way, to say that he considered its pro-
visions unjust There is no to organize a
lobby in favor OF the measure except the Union
Pacific and Central Pacific roads. 1t is pretty
we'll known that the Union Pacific has no excess
CT funds for any purpose, even if any one for
moment would suppose that that road. under
the presidency of Charles Francis Adams
would enter into thing Of that sort: and as to
the Central Pacific. it has played the part Of
tender in this entire proceeding and has not
been an active factor in support of the lesisla.
ton. That number of Congressman are in
terested IN stock speculation in various ways
chere can be no question. Several Wall street
agencies have direct or indirect connection with
the Capitol, and brokers agents are constantly
employed in furnishing members with quota
tions. During the recent panic in Wall street
some of the agents were kept very busy in
serving notices upon their customers that the
margins needed to be replenished, but not al
ways with success. SO far the lobby goes
the surface indications are quite strong that
an organization has been formed to defeat the
passage of this funding DILL that one exists in
favor of it.
There is New Yorker pretty generally
known upon the Stock Exchange in connection
with large transactions, who is spending the
winter here as he spent the most of last winter
and whose sole occupation seems to he to fur
nish information and moral lessons in small
way on the ubject of the wickedness of the land
grant corporations. Not long ago he caused
members OF Congress to be supplied with little
fly sheet containing lot of figures said to ac
cura,ely represent the effect of this funding
bill The members of the committee which re-
ported the bill as a measure which there Is
every reason to believe they think is for the
best interests OF the government, obtained one
OF these fiy-sheets, and had it analyzed by a
government expert in the service of the com
mittee, who showed that its statements pro-
ceeded upon such false premises, and were so
erroneous in fact and fallacious in their conclu
sions, that member of the committee saws thew
have obtained from this New York missionary
an acknowledgment that his publication was er.
roneous
While some Congressman speculate in stocks
in small way about the corridors of Congress
and think that they are concealing their trans
actions when they are not, it is fact that con-
gresslonal speculation has very largely decreased
within the last few years. This is due to the
fact, undoubtedly that the field of congressional
Legislation offers fewer opportunities for specula-
tion than it formerly did 1t is also true that
the heaviest spectators in Congress do not carry
their stock lists pinned 10 their seeves-do not
In fact. keep any accounts IN Washington. but
conduct their own affairs in their own way with
New York directly. This fact explains the fre-
Gnent and sometimes protracted visits of certain
Congressman, notably of the few heavier opera
tors IN the Senate, to New York in whose upn-
Qulsiuve vastness they are able TO conduct what
ever stock operations they please, without being
quite so subject to the intrusive curiosity of the
newspapers. Time was when Congress lobby
operations were extensive and profitable to a
few people, but so far as the general public goes
that era terminated with the exposures in con
nection With the Pacific Mail. Since that time
the surviving squad Of professional LOBBYISTS
have, for the most part, looked rather haggard
and down at the heel.